justin is reading

FROM A BROKEN TREE by Robert Lupton

I once saw a large tree that had been struck by lightning many years before. The trunk was badly split and bent, but the growth of recent years was sturdy and straight. Bark had grown over much of the once-exposed heartwood, leaving the trunk misshapen but well protected. How is it, I wondered, that a tree could grow to strength and maturity around such a crippling injury?
I once knew a young man born in the inner city. His self concept was badly scarred from parental neglect, racism, rejecting teachers, and years of failure. His values were deformed by the survival ethic of the street and by the hurt that had become a burning core of anger. I saw new growth form a protective covering over his open wounds and broken dreams. A strong new character developed, marked with unique sensitivities and perceptions. How is it, I wondered, that a young man can grow to strength and maturity around such deforming childhood experiences?
I once knew a Christian counselor whose life was marred by sin and whose character was bent toward deceitfulness. He struggled with rebellion against authority. His need for power was intertwined with his efforts to serve. He was plagued with insecurities. Spiritual and emotional growth, as well as years of socialization, largely concealed the kinks and twists at his core. But I knew how gnarled his character was, for I knew him better than anyone. How is it, I wondered, that God could use him to be a healer of others?
I have seen God taken the broken, deformed things of this world, bless them with new life and sanctify them for his special purpose. From a broken tree, God provides shade in the summer. From a deeply scarred youth, he forms a person of unusual compassion and understanding, a model of hope to the disheartened of the inner city. From the twisted personality of a counselor, he shapes a healer of emotional pain and uses a rebellious nature for creative purposes.
I am reassured to know that the straightness of my grain is not a precondition of usefulness to God. And I am humbled to see that out of the twistedness of my wounds, he designs for me a special place of service.

I have to reflect on this segment of Robert Lupton’s book “Theirs Is The Kingdom” for my seminary class. Under any other time or circumstance I would probably find one or two verses about God using the weak or sinful for good, and then talk about Grace and Redemption. But this week the world has been laid bare to the ugliness of abuses done by Ravi Zacharias (RZ). I will not waste space on the details, for those see the open letter by RZIM and this piece by David French. Instead I will reflect on the Lupton reading in light of this revelation.

I do not need to view RZ as a broken tree used by God to spread the gospel and defend the faith. I need to see RZ as a beautiful tree, rotted and hollow from the inside out, propping up the façade of a healthy tree. This rotted tree was using the gospel to spread its rottenness for its own power and ability to abuse. Unlike the counselor above, who in spite of his personal struggles, was doing good work for others, RZ used his “good work” for others to cover for his predatory behavior. I think we can see why false equivalence and leveling all sins is dangerous here.

James 2:14-26, Matthew 25:31-46

I do not view the Christian faith as an afterlife religion. On my reading of Scripture this universe matters to God and his revelation in Jesus inaugurated its redemption. All of us are either participating in the advancement of the kingdom of God (heaven coming to earth), are passive in awareness of it, or actively working against it. RZ actively worked against the kingdom by abusing, manipulating and preying on vulnerable women. He now is in the presence of Christ and can only be experiencing the fire of its refining work. We all will face that fire, but some will burn longer than others. This must be so, for I can’t see a restorative justice that places him in the kingdom that is to come along with his victims, as if nothing happened and they all arrived the same way.

I have committed grave sins. I am thankful I have had the chance at redemption in this age, and in my relationships. Most of us understand what it’s like to be capable of hurtful things. However, there is a difference when it involves power, physical abuse, and spiritual abuse. If you are reading this and you find yourself in a leadership position of any capacity, and plagued by the desire to harm others or use your power to hide deviance, please stop reading this and go to a licensed therapist. Resign from your positions, or take an extended leave. You can stop this from happening again. If you are reading this and you find yourself close to someone of this description, or a victim of this type of abuse, tell someone! And if they don’t listen tell someone else! A Church Called Tov is required reading in this regard.

I leave you with these two thoughts: 1. There is still time for God to use the victims of RZ for good. 2. His victims will be the broken trees that grow beautiful and strong in spite of the pain and the wounds.